Description

Populated by urbane Jewish merchants and professionals as well as new arrivals from the shtetl, imperial Kiev was acclaimed for its opportunities for education, culture, employment, and entrepreneurship but cursed for the often pitiless persecution of its Jews. Kiev, Jewish Metropolis limns the history of Kiev Jewry from the official readmission of Jews to the city in 1859 to the outbreak of World War I. It explores the Jewish community’s politics, its leadership struggles, socioeconomic and demographic shifts, religious and cultural sensibilities, and relations with the city's Christian population. Drawing on archival documents, the local press, memoirs, and belles lettres, Natan M. Meir shows Kiev's Jews at work, at leisure, in the synagogue, and engaged in the activities of myriad Jewish organizations and philanthropies.

Author Bio

Natan M. Meir is the Lorry I. Lokey Professor of Judaic Studies at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

“A multidimensional and panoramic picture of Jewish communal life in late Tsarist Kiev. The book is meticulously researched, eminently readable, and rich in detail.”
— Jeffrey Veidlinger, author of Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire